SINGAPORE: Organisations as well as members of the public contributed more to charitable causes last year in tandem with the recovering economy.
According to the Commissioner of Charities (COC) annual report, the total value of tax deductible donations received in 2010 was S$776 million.
That's an increase of 13 per cent compared to 2009.
Corporate and individual donations rose 13 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.
The total income of the charity sector amounted to S$9.4 billion.
This includes fees for services rendered, donations and government grants.
There were 104 large charities with annual incomes above S$10 million as compared to 98 in the previous year.
These
were mainly tertiary education institutions, health institutions,
voluntary welfare organisations and religious organisations.
They collectively accounted for 84 per cent of the total income of the charity sector.
Charities
with annual incomes of less than S$250,000 made up 42 per cent of the
charity population and accounted for less than 1 per cent of the total
income of the charity sector.
Last year, more than 73 new charities were registered, while 18 were deregistered.
This brings the number of registered charities at the end of last year to 2,028.
The
report also highlighted amendments to the Charities Act last year
including a new provision to penalise people or institutions which
misrepresent themselves as registered charities or Institutions of a
Public Character (IPCs), or their fund-raisers.
- CNA/cc